Disney will pause theatrical movie releases in Russia
"Given the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the tragic humanitarian crisis, we are pausing the release of theatrical films in Russia."
The Walt Disney Co. said Monday that it was “pausing” the release of theatrical films in Russia, becoming the first Hollywood company to weigh in publicly on the matter and putting pressure on its rival Warner Bros., which is moving forward with the Thursday release of “The Batman” in the country.
“Given the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the tragic humanitarian crisis, we are pausing the release of theatrical films in Russia, including the upcoming ‘Turning Red’ from Pixar,” Disney said in a statement. “Turning Red” was scheduled for release in Russia on March 10. (In the United States, it will be released exclusively on Disney+ on March 11.)
How long a pause might be remained unclear. Given the marketing runway needed to release films in theaters, Disney’s action will almost assuredly affect two other films, however. They are Marvel’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” scheduled for release May 5 in Russia, and the animated “Bob’s Burgers,” scheduled for May 26.
Disney has a variety of additional operations in Russia, including a Disney Channel, retail sales of consumer products and touring stage productions. Disney did not address any of those in its statement.
“We will make future business decisions based on the evolving situation,” the statement said. Disney added that it was working with unspecified partner organizations to provide “urgent aid and other humanitarian assistance to refugees.”
Russia is a small box-office market for Disney. “Free Guy” was the company’s top release there last year, according to IMDBpro, a film industry database. It collected $11.2 million in Russia, about 3% of its worldwide gross of $331.5 million. “Encanto” recently took in $5.5 million in Russia and $244 million worldwide.
Before the pandemic, Russia was the No. 9 market for Hollywood outside the U.S., according to the Motion Picture Association. Ticket sales for American-made movies totaled about $900 million in Russia in 2019. In the No. 1 foreign market, China, sales for Hollywood totaled $9.3 billion in 2019.
“The Batman” is the next major Hollywood movie scheduled for release in Russia. A Warner spokesperson had no comment Monday afternoon. But officials from Warner and Universal Pictures, which teams with the studio on its Russia releases, had indicated earlier in the day that its opening would go forward as planned.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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